Canton, Ohio, to issue $200,000 LED streetlight RFP

Canton, Ohio, plans to issue a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a $200,000 LED streetlight retrofit program in March 2010.

Canton has allocated $200,000 of an overall energy efficiency grant of $800,000 to LED streetlight conversion. The city intends to retrofit 326 existing high pressure sodium streetlights through a two phase program.

The funds for Phase II, and an additional 345 streetlights retrofit, will be leveraged from other sources including the local electrical utility. The existing 100 watt lamps will be replaced with 55 watt LED fixtures. According to Eduardo Molina of Canton traffic engineering, “The city is expecting to have the specifications and bidding process ready to bid in the next four to five months.”

The city of Canton has already demonstrated success with an LED pilot conducted along the West Tuscarawas Streetscape Corridor. In addition to consuming less than half the energy of traditional HPS bulbs, LED luminaires have also shown to have a markedly longer service life. This has resulted in long term energy and maintenance cost reductions. In addition to traditional roadway lights, the city of Canton maintains 939 decorative streetlights. The city has already successfully converted 280 of its existing streetlights to LED fixtures.